Seven Steps to become a world class computer Engineer

25 June 2010 32 Comments Posted By paras

I read the post by Abhishek Desai and found it very helpful so I am sharing it here. I bet it will be very helpful to Indian Computer Engineering Students.

Reasons for writing this post:

I feel I have not done enough to become a good computer engineer. May be I did not have someone who could guide me properly. We were only the second batch of Computer Engineering at Nirma Institute of Technology, Ahmedabad, so we had no mentors in the industry.
Second reason, may be we were not mature enough.
Third reason, 3 Idiots was not released at that time.
So this post is dedicated to all the fellow computer engineering students (especially in India) who are still having a good time by bunking the classes but not doing good enough to become a world class computer engineer otherwise.

But what can I do?

1. Have the right infrastructure

Get yourself a decent laptop. (I prefer Mac but any decent Dell laptop is also ok)
Get yourself a nice internet connection with highest speed available. (Take a cut from your pocket money if you have to but this is a must)
Get yourself an iPhone (I know it is expensive in India but you will have to use world class gadgets to become world class engineer)
Make your home or hostel room WiFi enabled. (This is not expensive. You will get a decent router in 2-3k.)
If you are not able to do any or all of the above things, don’t worry you can still become a good computer engineer. So hang on and keep reading.

2. Learn to use Google Reader

Google reader will become the best companion of yours for lifetime if you use it properly.
It is nothing but a cool RSS reader from Google using which you can subscribe to blogs to get latest updates and posts. So if you have a gmail account you are ready to go. What? You do not have a gmail account yet!! Go get one right now. Stop reading. Open a gmail account now and come back. I am waiting.
I am still waiting.
Ok great, so you have a gmail account now, good. Watch this video . It explains in plain english how to use google reader.

Software, Web Search Strategies, Wikis, Social Bookmarking, Social Networking, Blogs, Podcasting and Cloud computing on http://www.commoncraft.com/ (Now you understand why I told you get the fastest internet connection available?). You don’t have to see them all at once but do check them all and understand.
Done? Ok so you are ready to become a world class computer engineer now.
Now you understand Google Reader, so it’s time to subscribe to interesting blogs. Subscribe to following blogs.
- Techcrunch.com (King of Technology Blogs)
- Gigaom.com (Michale Arrington of Techcrunch considers Om as his Guru)
- ReadWriteWeb.com
- Pluggd.in (Indian Techcrunch)
- JoelOnSoftware.com (a must read for programmers)
- CodingHorror.com (another must read for programmers)
There are many such blogs but to start with these are ok. You will keep finding other interesting blogs as and when you will come across some.
Getting used to read on computer takes time and patience so just keep reading it.
So I guess we are done with Google Reader part here. This means you have to open up Google Reader as soon you bunk the classes or as soon as you get the time to check your mails.

3. Academic Earth

Do you want to see how professors teach in Harvard and Stanford? Do you want to see how their lectures are conducted? You can now, we were not able to do that in our time.
Go to www.academicearth.org and you will see videos of actual lectures and courses of Harvard, Yale, Stanford. Now you know whose lectures to watch after bunking the classes or after getting back to home.
You do not want to miss the chance of studying in these universities without going to US to giving them millions in fees right? and guess what? Attendance is not compulsory here

4. Learn any web language quickly and start building

I would suggest PHP or Ruby. ASP.NET C# is also fine if you already know something about it.
And start building something on it. It can be anything. But start programming on web now. Most of you are never going to write a program C, C++ or COBOL in your lifetime. I would not advise against learning them though.
After you know something about web programming, read “Getting Real” from 37Signals.
Now again build something using whatever you learned from the above book.

5. Assume you are in Sillicon Valley

I know this sounds little weird but that’s the way it is.
The best of the minds in the world are there and you do not want to miss out on that right?
Thousands of things happen everyday in Sillicon Valley and you can remain updated by reading above blogs I mentioned.
So start feeling the air

6. Start asking why?

When you are attending a lecture or reading anything, have a habit of asking why?
For e.g. Why we have to study “Strength of Materials” when most of us are going to write web applications in PHP or ASP.NET?
When you ask why often, you start understanding the logic, the reason behind doing anything.
Same as they have said in 3 Idiots, don’t learn to get marks but learn to know something, to achieve the excellence. When you start asking why, you start on the right path.

7. Understand computer hardware

Most people thinks this is boring and unnecessary.
May be it is, but it will certainly make you better programmer, even if you will never touch the inside of the computer again.
Basic understanding of hardware is necessary to understand how computer works.
You have to understand following 100% without any doubt in your mind.
- How your high level programming code becomes 0s and 1s and execute?
- The text which you are reading now is also consisting of 0s and 1s only then how come you are reading the alphabets here?
- FYI I am still not 100% clear on this. But I will be one day. Till then I am not a good computer engineer.

I guess I have get you started here.

By following any or all of the above steps you are destined to become world class computer engineer. By no means I am asking you to stop whatever you are doing right now in your college.

These are additional things you have to do. It takes hard work to become world class right?

You are always on your own to achieve the path of excellence. Friends and Tutors can only guide you, they can not make you one.

I would request my fellow classmates to add points in this post. I believe our batch 99CE in Nirma Institue of Technology had one of the best and brightest minds in the world. Do you have any doubt? Well this guy is one of them. 99CE people are in MIT, Google, Apple, Barclays, Bank of America to name a few. They are spread across the world and are on their way to become future leaders.

I would also request people who have read this post and feel they can add something here to help students of computer engineering. My aim is to have great people coming out of Indian Engineering Colleges.

Last words, by no means above list is exhaustive and complete. There are “n” number of ways to achieve excellence. These are my personal views and I have learned them long and hard way. I hope to make your journey little easier by this post.

The post was written by abhishek desai. Link to this post is :
Abhishek Desai

Popularity: 3% [?]

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32 Comments »

mishu said:

I didnt undrstnd what did u tell about PHP or ASP.NET

# 26 June 2010 at 9:38 am

Rock8000 said:

Yes, pls write a post and explain for us about PHP and ASP.NET

# 28 June 2010 at 2:42 pm

yusuf said:

good work, dude

# 29 June 2010 at 5:23 am

Jigar Joshi said:

Links are not working..
anyways nice work veteran!

# 29 June 2010 at 9:31 am

Mahesh said:

He’s saying you should learn some web-based language, like PHP, ASP.NET and start building web apps. You won’t be using languages like C, Cobol in your life time career. But you must know them to clear basic concepts. If you are interested in software engineering, go for advanced languages like Java, C#, etc.

-Mahesh.

# 29 June 2010 at 9:55 am

krishna said:

@above.. abhishek desai dint said anything abt PHP or ASP.NET he just gavean example.. he wanted us to focus on the strength.. rather dan basics(here web development)…

# 29 June 2010 at 10:08 am

animesh said:

hey Hello Abhishek can you please suggest me the book of PHP & how to install & start work on PHP installer……….

# 29 June 2010 at 10:11 am

Shishu said:

I really like this post. But one thing is missing, do what you want to do.

# 29 June 2010 at 10:55 am

paras (author) said:

@ Everybody : as you all know i shared the article that i found on the web. what i can do is invite him here and solve our queries. Even you people can go to his blog and ask him questions there.

PS : I think he has given a road map for us to follow. the core idea of the article was to provide guidelines and is not focused on which programming language to use and learn. it seems he prefers open languages technologies.

I will try my best to get him here!

# 29 June 2010 at 5:49 pm

Sony from haryana said:

Excclent bro. Am also doing CE in polytechnic of ambala. And i like ur post.

# 14 July 2010 at 1:59 pm

PARADOX said:

Awesome man really a new step in the field of CS Engg.
I appreciate your work
Keep going on posting new articles related.

# 17 July 2010 at 11:09 pm

Lankesh said:

Nice work dude…..!!!

Keep posting such guidlines for novice…!!

# 18 July 2010 at 1:53 am

gagan said:

this is great post.thank you very much……:)

# 22 July 2010 at 1:24 am

paras (author) said:

@sony , Lankesh , paradox : Thanks a lot!

Paras Doshi

# 22 July 2010 at 11:42 pm

psyops said:

Hungry-hackers site is useful and helpful. I am very glad I found it. You are now in my bookmarks and google reader. Continue the effort, you are going to go places.

# 3 August 2010 at 9:28 am

ANAND said:

nice information sir,thanks

# 9 August 2010 at 6:32 pm

hacking lover said:

I am a student of 1st year B.Tech and i love hacking and i want to download some movies from my college network and they have blocked peers and can anyone tell me a way to unlock them.

# 21 August 2010 at 11:46 am

Edward said:

Yo dawg I just wanted to thank you! You have given me the guidelines, rite now I’m on step 2 but I’m getting there! I don’t want to rush it and all that…

# 25 August 2010 at 2:25 am

maneesh said:

well sir give some more tips regularly!!
it wl be betr if u guide me daily like this!!

# 29 August 2010 at 11:26 am

n.k said:

hy, u are doing good, carry on

# 21 September 2010 at 10:43 am

karan said:

bro i m in 10th but i have interest in wht you had talked about.tell me how a junior can become junior comp. programmer

# 30 September 2010 at 4:36 pm

Briggs Roland said:

introducing myself
my names is Roland “hungry hanker” i am a student a sime computer engineering from cameroon.i am always addicted to the internet and alway in the search of harcks

# 3 October 2010 at 1:52 am

Jarnail said:

Hi,
I like this article though I am not student. I am a programmer in and developing web applications in php from last 3+ years. i think guidelines are good.

it is interesting article.

# 9 October 2010 at 11:34 pm

Samuel Ejembi said:

pls explain to me more on how to use PHP and the rest

# 13 October 2010 at 3:29 am

Aashish Kumar said:

heya thanxxx bro for such a gud article….
i m a student from 10th n i addicted to computers n wanna be a programmer.and i wanna becum a hacker 2.plz could you suggest sumthin about where to start from……???Plz post your comment as soon as possible….
or mail me @— [email protected]

# 27 October 2010 at 1:07 pm

kumar said:

nice post dude…inspired by your post..!!

# 28 October 2010 at 12:29 pm

Ashokkumar said:

Really Nice………….

# 4 January 2011 at 6:46 pm

shyam said:

thank you very much dude keep it up your good work

# 22 January 2011 at 6:54 pm

Aarchi said:

hii……. i m persuing btech in IT branch. I m really inspired by your article. Thanks to you becz your show me the right direction to achieve my aim. Thanks once again.

# 24 January 2011 at 9:01 pm

siddhartha biswas said:

THANK U VERRY MUTCH…..
I SHOULD FOLLOW UR INSTRUCTION AS I WANT TO BE A PERFECT COMPUTER ENGINEER…..

i am IT student of BESU shibpur

pls contact with me ,i want ur help..
or how can i contact u?
pls,pls inform me.

thanks.

# 20 February 2011 at 3:10 am

Rabin said:

I am a school student from Nepal.I want to be a computer Engineer what can i do be computer engineer.

# 26 February 2011 at 5:13 pm

Rajasekaran said:

nice job friend

# 27 March 2011 at 4:31 am

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Translator

Introducing Myself

My name is Ashik a.k.a. "Hungry Hacker". I am student of Computer Engineering from Institute of Technology, Nirma University, Ahmedabad. I am addicted to Internet and always in search of Hacks. According to me,

Hacking is fun, if you are a "Hacker"!

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